This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Inhibitors of the enzyme sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) are valuable research tools for the study of the enzyme's role in physiological processes and they also have the potential of being developed into new anti-cancer agents. A series of 2,5-disubstitued hydroquinones will be synthesized and their ability to inhibit SERCA will be assessed in bioassays. Based on the results, computational techniques such as structure-activity relationship modeling and ligand docking will be used to develop models capable of predicting the activities of yet untested, hydroquinone-based compounds. With the aid of these models, compound libraries will be screened virtually for novel SERCA inhibitors that then will be obtained and tested in bioassays.